Outlaws @ Ocean City Music Pier

For The Outlaws, it’s always been about the music. For more than 40 years, the Southern Rock legends celebrated triumphs and endured tragedies to remain one of the most influential and best-loved bands of the genre. Today, The Outlaws have returned with new music, new focus, and an uncompromising new mission: It’s about a band of brothers bound together by history, harmony, and the road. It’s about a group that respects its own legacy while refusing to be defined by it’s past. But most of all, it’s about pride.

As live performers, the band burns hotter than ever. “The Outlaws helped define Southern Rock for me and for generations of fans,” wrote music journalist Bill Robinson in The Huffington Post. “Seeing them onstage with The Charlie Daniels Band, The Marshall Tucker Band, The Allman Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd or countless others was, for a long time, one of the best experiences I could have. And so it was again when I saw The Outlaws play recently.” The band’s concerts – vividly captured in their 2016 double album Legacy Live – are blazing 2+ hour tributes to the band’s rich history and fiery rebirth. Classic tracks and fan favorites from the first three albums – as well as The Henry Paul Band’s definitive ‘Grey Ghost’ – share the spotlight with songs from It’s About Pride and 2020’s acclaimed Dixie Highway that have been enthusiastically embraced by audiences. “I think our new material goes back to those three classic Outlaws albums, when the band was proud of its influences from country, blues and jazz,” says Paul. “Plus, Jimmy and Jeff have honored and maybe even stepped up the legacy of ‘The Guitar Army’. Our goal is to unite the fans and bring the band back into the light. It’s about finishing what we started.” For Henry, Dave, Randy, Jimmy, Michael, and Jeff, it’s also about a band of brothers who love playing their own brand of rock, and who 40+ years ago first got the chance to share it with the world.

Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel

By the time Duane Betts began working on Wild & Precious Life — his triumphant debut solo album — he’d already spent two decades creating his own version of guitar-slinging, story-driven American rock & roll.

Wild & Precious Life offers up a timeless version of American music — a mix of blues, rock, folk, and country that could’ve blanketed the FM radio airwaves during any number of decades. It’s a modern album inspired by some of the best parts of the past, full of sharply crafted songs written in a state of deep reflection and Duane’s journey toward sobriety. “Waiting on a Song” is a timeless tribute to patience, faith, and the muse itself, laced with fiery fretwork from Duane’s Les Paul Gold Top.  “Circles in the Stars” is equal parts cowboy campfire song and folk ballad, with Duane singing a love letter to his wife over the earthy resonance of a vintage, post-WWII Martin D28 acoustic guitar that once belonged to his father. The twin guitar harmonies that define “Stare at the Sun” breathe fresh life into southern rock. “I was inspired by a conversation I’d had with Derek, where he was talking about my father’s guitar playing,” Duane explains. “He told me, ‘Your dad is one of those players who’s not afraid to stare directly into the sun,’ and I loved that line. I was already working on a new song, and Derek’s sentiment gave the song a center.” Even the album’s instrumental track, “Under the Bali Moon,” seems to conjure up its own storyline, thanks to a combination of evocative slide guitar and non-western twinkles of piano.